


To Love In Silence

by GlowingMechanicalHeart



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Not so one-sided attraction, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21949936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingMechanicalHeart/pseuds/GlowingMechanicalHeart
Summary: Sherlock walks in and lets Molly close her door. He hesitates for a moment, “Molly,” he starts. “I…I have something to say. Three words, eight letters.” A flash of something passes in his face, before he is once again the calm and collected Sherlock that she knows. “I… got food.” He then raises his hand and shows her a bag with take out.Molly is torn between wanting to laugh and cry. She’s not sure if Sherlock will handle either well. Instead, she lets a resigned sigh out, “Thank you Sherlock. Very thoughtful of you. Come, let’s eat before it’s cold. What is it?”
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70





	To Love In Silence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afteriwake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/gifts).



> A very merry Christmas to my pal and second big sister: Afteriwake. Surprise, hope you like it!

Molly is carefully inspecting the liver of a body, when the door to her laboratory bursts open. The sound makes her jump and drop the tissue sample she was taking, her head snaps towards the direction of the sound and she finds Sherlock.

Of course it had to be him.

Molly narrows her eyes, “What the hell, Sherlock?” She asks. He’s usually quiet, never slams doors nor make a nuisance of himself on her lab. 

Sherlock draws closer and Molly can see he’s tired. Curious. There are bags and shadows under his eyes, how very curious. Sherlock can be a nocturnal man, rarely ever looking tired for it.

“I… I thought you’d be on later today,” Sherlock stumbles over his words. “I’m sorry, I should have knocked.”

Molly knows she arrived earlier than usual, but sometimes it can’t be helped. As much as she likes to rest and be home, she had decided to come in early. She simply nods. “You look tired,” Molly tells him as she watches him. Sherlock doesn’t stumble over his words, he’s calm and composed, even in the face of danger. “Is everything all right?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Sherlock asks and comes near the body. His eyes looking for anything usual in it. “New?”

“Because you look,” Molly frowns and rests her hands on the table near the body. “Honestly, you look worn down. Your shirt is wrinkled and the shadows under your eyes are darker. Not very you.”

“I baby sat Rosie,” Sherlock admits. “She kept me up, cried all night. I didn’t think it would be hard, after all, I’m used to being up, but…”

Molly wants to laugh, “But taking care of a baby is different?” She says sweetly.

“Yes.” Sherlock’s glare has no heat and Molly suppresses her giggles. “Now John and Mary owe me a rather large favor.”

Molly snorts but says nothing, instead, she moves to grab something to clean the crystal on the floor. Once she has done so, she continues with her work. Files paperwork and makes the preparations for the body. Sherlock simply observes, occasionally pointing out something that she might have missed. Molly doesn’t mind, she likes working with Sherlock. Most of the time. As of late, Sherlock has been making an effort to be more… people-like. And she has absolutely no troubles in calling out his bullshit when necessary.

In the end, Sherlock leaves first. Molly still needs to make a report of her findings, sign and file it. At the end of the day, Molly turns down an invitation of her colleagues for drinks. She’s tired and honestly? She just wants to go home, get comfortable, order take out and watch the telly.

And so Molly does. She’s barely in her pajamas, trying to decide what to order in, when there’s a knock on her door. She hurries, “Coming!” She looks through the hole at her door and spots Sherlock. She opens her door. “Sherlock, come in.”

Sherlock walks in and lets Molly close her door. He hesitates for a moment, “Molly,” he starts. “I…I have something to say. Three words, eight letters.” A flash of something passes in his face, before he is once again the calm and collected Sherlock that she knows. “I… got food.” He then raises his hand and shows her a bag with take out.

Molly is torn between wanting to laugh and cry. She’s not sure if Sherlock will handle either well. Instead, she lets a resigned sigh out, “Thank you Sherlock. Very thoughtful of you. Come, let’s eat before it’s cold. What is it?”

“Chinese.” Sherlock says and follows her to her small table. Pulls the containers out as Molly goes and gets glasses, wine and non alcoholic cider for Sherlock. 

Molly savors her meal, “Don’t have a case?” She asks, it’s rare for Sherlock to simply to come over. 

“I’m still recovering from Rosie,” Sherlock says with a quirk of his lips. “I’ll pick one later tonight, or tomorrow.”

“Good,” Molly says and continues to eat. “Babysitting is not that hard, you know? You’re simply not used to it.”

Sherlock pauses and looks at her, his eyes sharp. “Perhaps. Babies are not my expertise.”

“She’ll grow soon enough,” Molly agrees and continues with her eating. Occasionally sparing a look at Sherlock, who still looks a bit out of sorts. As if he had been trying to say something, but wasn’t able to.

It hurts, Molly knows and is honest with herself to admit that. She loves him, probably always will. And for a brief moment, she wonders if she should just rip the band-aid and just tell him so. But for the time being, she doesn’t. She looks at Sherlock and catches him looking at her, he doesn’t look away when she does. “Do I have something?”

“No,” Sherlock’s voice is soft and low. “No. You don’t.”

Molly is at a loss for words. Sometimes - fine, most of the time - Sherlock has the ability to throw her off. But she looks in her eyes and there are soft and kind. His behaviour towards her is kindlier, gentler. Ever since the discovery of his sister and everything that surrounded that, Sherlock has been changing. He’s still a pain in the arse sometimes, but now he makes an effort to be polite.

The truth is, Sherlock has been changing these years; but the change is more visible now. Molly looks down at the table, Sherlock’s hand is free and resting in it. On impulse, she extends hers and takes his. “Thank you for dinner.” I love you.

Sherlock’s lips curl into a gentle smile and his hand twist, their palms are touching and his squeezes her hand. “You’re welcome.”

They finish eating and Sherlock stands, helps her discard the containers on the rubbish bin. Then grabs his coat of the back of the chair and puts it on, Molly walks him to the door. “Goodnight Sherlock.”

Sherlock stands in the door, then comes close to her and places a gentle kiss near the corner of her lips. “Goodnight Molly.” His voice was low and husky, then without looking back, he makes his way outside and into the darkened streets of London.

Molly stands frozen in her spot. Only closes her door when Toby mewls at her, she looks down at her cat and a smile slowly blooms on her face. Maybe she didn’t need to say ‘I love you’ right now, maybe Sherlock knew that already. Perhaps things had changed more than she realized. Perhaps her feelings weren’t so one-sided now. Perhaps Sherlock felt something more than simple friendship, more than seeing her as someone who helped him. Perhaps she mattered more than what she’d thought. But one day she would say it out loud. One day, perhaps not so far off, she would say the words in Sherlock’s face. And she hoped that when she did, Sherlock would say it too.

Loving someone in silence was hard, harder still to feel the blossoming of hope in her chest. One that with one kiss, he made her feel. Molly smiled and took Toby in her arms. “I love him, you know?” She said at the cat, who mewled in return. “I hope he loves me too.” _I think he might love me too._


End file.
